Fitness Center Feasibility Study in the Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI Metro Area

Milwaukee and Waukesha: a middle-ranked fitness market

Fitness centers sit at 6 of 39 among the asset classes SBA tracks for Milwaukee-Waukesha, and the area itself stands 39 of 608 for the class. Over FY2017 to FY2026, SBA approved 71 loans worth $25.4 million. At 0.95x, the location quotient is close to the national level, so fitness is neither unusually common nor unusually rare in local lending. Waukesha County, WI accounts for 34 loans and Milwaukee County, WI for 25, which puts the suburban county ahead of the central one.

The median loan is $225,000, and the middle half stretches from $70,500 to $476,100. Against the national median the ratio is 0.87x, a little under the class norm. The programs split 66 loans to 5, 7(a) against 504, so most borrowers are buying businesses, leasing space or fitting out suites and are not financing buildings. A franchise share of 50.7% tells a reader that about half of the local record sits under a recognized brand and the rest with independents.

Lenders on the Milwaukee record

Topping the 7(a) names, The Huntington National Bank has 12 loans worth $3.4 million, 7 worth $1.2 million with Wisconsin Women's Business Initiative Corporation, 5 worth $3.2 million with Byline Bank and 5 worth $477,500 with Summit CU. Under 504, WBD, Inc. holds 5 loans for $6.1 million. Dollars per loan differ sharply, from the small Summit CU loans to the large WBD, Inc. ones, which shows how differently the two programs fit a club. The numbers are SBA's tallies of loans held and say nothing of lender policy.

Cancellation claimed at least 12.3% of FY2017 to FY2024 approvals; the number is a floor, and nothing is shown for the ceiling or the charge-off rate, and blanks are not zeros. Milwaukee-Waukesha recorded 9 loans and $1.5 million in FY2017, 12 loans and $2.4 million in FY2019, 9 loans and $4.2 million in FY2024 and 8 loans and $1.7 million in FY2026. Years left out rest on few loans. Area membership comes from each project county on the July 2023 delineation, so a Milwaukee-area loan that cannot be matched is omitted.

What a fitness study here has to test

Winter shapes the case: membership has to be sized from households within a short drive, and January crowding must be weighed against a quiet summer. The study should compare rival gyms and studios in Waukesha County and Milwaukee County and model retention, since churn drives revenue more than sign-ups. Gear makes up a big slice of cost and ages quickly, so repayment terms deserve a check against useful life. A presale ramp should be kept apart from steady membership. In an appraisal, leasehold improvements usually carry the value, and a converted retail box needs its conversion cost allowed for.